Delivery of titrated oxygen via a self-inflating resuscitation bag

Abstract

AimTo investigate whether titration of inspired oxygen can be achieved through adjustment of oxygen flow into a self-inflating resuscitation bag with a reservoir of a type used in standard ambulance practice. MethodsIn a series of bench experiments, oxygen was delivered via a flow metre to a 1500ml self-inflating resuscitation bag with a 2500ml reservoir bag and connected to a test lung. The oxygen concentration delivered to the test lung by manual inflation of the resuscitation bag was measured using an anaesthetic machine while the delivered tidal volume was measured using a respirometer. The delivered oxygen concentration was measured at flows of 0.5, 2, 6, 12 and 15lmin−1 for tidal volumes of 300, 600, and 900ml with bag inflation rates of 10, 20 and 30min−1. ResultsA wide range of delivered oxygen concentrations ranging between 24% and 99.5% were achieved with different oxygen flows, tidal volumes, and inflation rates. Overall, the mean delivered oxygen concentration increased significantly with each of the increments of oxygen flow tested (p<0.001 for all comparisons). ConclusionsEffective titration of oxygen delivery can be achieved using adjustment of oxygen flow with a standard self-inflating resuscitation bag and reservoir.